'The Descendant' traces Hanover native's family ties

Thursday

Aug 14, 2014 at 12:17 PMAug 14, 2014 at 3:18 PM

By Seth Jacobsonsjacobson@wickedlocal.com

A feeling of abandonment is what led Kristian Pedersen to discover that he was related to several prominent families of Olde Abington and other South Shore towns, and had ties to U.S. Presidents George Bush, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.

That empty feeling also fueled Pedersen’s determination to produce his first genealogy TV show about his roots called "The Descendant," which he is working on now, along with a book on the same subject.

A Hanover native, Pedersen said he spent a great deal of his time with his grandparents because his father had abandoned him when he was 4 years old.

"The concept of 'The Descendant' started three years ago when I decided to start researching my father’s family," Pedersen said. "Several developments in 2010 (including he and his parents’ death) pertaining to he and his family brought back many emotions and feelings I had buried. I joined a genealogical website and began researching and found that I had a half-brother in Alaska along with nieces and nephews and now even great nephews. A son without a father has no direction, no identity, so I was determined to find the history that had been denied me."

He found out a lot about his history.

And more.

He discovered he had more family in Denmark and in other parts of the world as well. His research also revealed some pretty startling revelations.

Pedersen found out he was related to several old South Shore families, including the Old Abington-based Dyer, Whitmarsh, Branch, Gurney and Jenkins clans. He also discovered he was related to the Barstow family, who helped found Hanover and Norwell.

As he dug deeper, Pedersen discovered his ties to presidents of the United States and traced his roots back to several people who came to America aboard "The Mayflower."

"At some point on the 'Mayflower' voyage, a man named John Howland fell overboard but managed to grab the rigging of the ship and get back on board," Pedersen said. "If he hadn’t gotten back on board, there would’ve been no George Bush, because Howland was a cousin of the Bush family. And there would be no me either, because Howland was my cousin too."

In researching his mother’s family tree, Pedersen discovered even more.

"I found out I was also descended from two women hung in Salem for witchcraft and the Wampanoag Indians," he said.

Armed with this information, Pedersen started thinking his search might make a great TV show, one that could focus on one man being related to several key historic figures.

And that is exactly what Pedersen is aiming for with his project. He has been shopping his idea to different networks but admits the project is a long way from being finished. He added he is also going to be working on a book that would be a companion piece to the TV production.

Pedersen said he is happy with all the work he has done. He has five children and wants them to know their family history.

"I’m 40 years old now," Pedersen said. "When you’re that age, your legacy starts becoming very important. That’s all you have left when you’re gone."

He said he is going to keep digging into his history as long as he can, noting he has researched his family all the way back to the 1500s at this point.

"When you do this kind of project, you find out a lot of stuff you don’t expect," Pedersen said. "Sometimes, that’s not easy. It’s been a very emotional experience for me. You don’t just find out all the good stuff. You discover bad things too. But it’s been very worthwhile."

To learn more about the project, check out The Descendant Facebook page.

Seth Jacobson can be reached at sjacobson@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @AbRockGuy.